Big Ten Women’s Lacrosse Tournament Preview
Regular season lacrosse has come to an end which means it’s time for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament.
This year's tournament will feature seven teams. Six are set to compete in the quarter-finals while the regular season champions, the Northwestern Wildcats, will receive a first-round bye.
The quarterfinal games will take place Saturday, April 29. Each game will be played at the campus with the higher seed.
For the first matchup of the weekend, the No. 5 seed Penn State Nittany Lions will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the No. 4 seed Michigan Wolverines. The last time these two teams went head-to-head, the Wolverines earned a 10-8 victory, however, the game statistics told a different story than the final score.
Despite their loss, the Nittany Lions led the game in shots, caused turnovers, and ground balls, had eight fewer turnovers, and tied the Wolverines in free-position shots. Their downfall was not their overall play, but rather their ability to hit the back of the net.
With a roster full of high-scoring players like Kristin O’Neill, Gretchen Gilmore, Brooke Hoss, and Meghan Murray, who have put up a combined total of 120 goals this season, the Nittany Lions are not to be underestimated.
The game is set to take place at noon on Saturday. The winner will move on to face Northwestern in the semifinals.
At 1 p.m., the No. 6 seed Rutgers Scarlet Knights will face off against the No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins Blue Jays in Baltimore. With an overall record of 7-8 and a conference record of 1-5, the Scarlet Knights have had an underwhelming season, but that’s not to say they don’t stand a chance of succeeding in the first round.
Although they fell to the Blue Jays in early April, it was a narrow 12-11 loss. After leading the majority of the game and even entering the fourth quarter up 11-6, the Scarlet Knights lost their footing and allowed six straight goals in the final 15 minutes.
This time around, if the Knights can maintain their energy throughout the second half, they should put up a strong fight,
That being said, given their success in the Big Ten conference this season, a victory is likely in the cards for the Blue Jays.
Lastly, the No.7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the No. 2 seed Maryland Terrapins at 4:30 p.m. in College Park for the final matchup of the first round.
The Buckeyes have battled through a tough season, ending with an overall record of 5-11 and a conference record of 0-6. Unfortunately for them, things will not get any easier in this upcoming quarterfinal.
In contrast to the Buckeyes, the Terrapins have been dominant this spring, earning an overall record of 12-5 and a conference record of 4-2. Their last game against Ohio State ended in a swift 18-7 victory, with goals scored by eight separate players, and a new single-game assist record set by junior Eloise Clevenger.
If the Buckeyes hope to compete against Maryland, their defense will need to be on high alert in order to hold up against the Terrapins’ attack.
The semifinals and finals of this year’s Big Ten tournament will take place on May 4 and May 6 and will be hosted by Ohio State University at the Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus. The winner will automatically qualify for the 2023 NCAA Championship, while the rest of the bracket will be revealed live at 9 p.m. on May 7 on ESPNU.
Anna Licastro is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email arl5942@psu.edu.
